Humanverse

Names of South Dakota

1,130,783 births across 2,572 different names since 1910. No name belongs to South Dakota more than Marlys.

Most concentrated in South Dakota

Names given far more often here than in the country as a whole. The multiplier is how much more concentrated the name is than the state’s size alone would predict.

Name Born here Concentration
Marlys 758 29.7×
Lavonne 869 19.7×
Ardis 247 17.3×
Alvina 254 16.6×
Ione 233 12.2×
Mavis 685 10.8×
Lyle 1,891 10.6×
Vern 257 10.1×
Maynard 346 9.8×
Arlen 97 8.8×
Darwin 608 8.6×
Renae 285 8.4×
Harlan 574 8.3×
Brecken 105 7.9×
Erna 115 7.6×
Belva 97 7.2×
Jerald 518 7.1×
Merle 830 6.9×
Orville 660 6.8×
Merlin 238 6.7×

Most given, girls

#NameBirths
1Mary14,265
2Linda5,699
3Patricia5,535
4Dorothy5,495
5Barbara5,312
6Carol4,990
7Betty4,874
8Donna4,762
9Margaret4,553
10Elizabeth4,521
11Jennifer4,428
12Helen4,337
13Karen4,330
14Susan4,315
15Shirley4,088

Most given, boys

#NameBirths
1Robert18,055
2James15,730
3John14,530
4Michael13,016
5David12,427
6Richard10,584
7William10,542
8Donald9,801
9Thomas7,584
10Charles6,927
11Daniel6,443
12Kenneth5,965
13Steven5,886
14Mark5,819
15Joseph5,676

Other states and the District of Columbia

Source: US Social Security Administration state baby-name files, 1910 onwards. A name given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year is not published, so a name can be more common here than the table shows. Concentration is measured against the other state files, not against national totals, which cover more years and more names.